Back in the day, posting a cheque was standard routine for many of us – and then the option to pay bills online arrived. After converting to a new way of doing things – there’s no way that you would ever go back again. To this end, Microsoft has become a convenient option for many companies; they use the program because it is what they are used to. In fact, around 100 million people are currently using Microsoft products, but that certainly does not mean that it is the best solution for your business. Researchers at iDatix have examined SharePoint – and discovered five key areas where the program is falling short. Take a look at them and you will gain a fresh insight into what SharePoint is really doing for your business – or rather, not doing.
1) High risk option
As SharePoint is an off-the-shelf product, you have two choices after purchasing it. You can either use it as-is or customise it yourself, which is discussed in further detail below. Using any straight out-of-the-box document management system creates issues. Your business is not generic – your business solutions shouldn’t be either.
Like any technology implementation, a SharePoint deployment, if not aligned with strategy – and without correct planning – will ultimately get abandoned. A failed ECM system causes many problems – and a massive 60% of SharePoint users rate the system as either ‘poor’ or ‘fair’. Incorrect implementations and continual misuse are regularly reported.
2) You’re left out in the wilderness
Some businesses take on the somewhat daunting task of customising SharePoint to meet their specific business needs – 50% then indicate that custom solutions require much more effort than they expected. To further complicate matters, tailoring the program to your organisation requires some expertise in programming and IT. A lack of training, correct documentation and integration with non-Microsoft based repositories and existing application makes integration even more complicated.
3) Unimpressive ROI
When correctly configured and applied, a content management system will lower the costs associated with printing, storage, filing and paper usage. Clearly, improved operational efficiency and a reduction in expenses offers a high return on investment, however, due to the extra expenditures and resources associated with SharePoint, your company is unlikely to see a high return. Ideally, an ECM provider will analyse and provide an anticipated ROI for your company before deploying their system – and they will continue to evaluate this as their product is used. This way, you will know that the solution is really working for your business. SharePoint does not provide this kind of evaluation.
4) Lacklustre performance
Your company will be put at the mercy of people who are not invested in the success of your business i.e. third parties or in-house developers/programmers who will be required to create the custom code for SharePoint in order for it to fit to your needs. This can result in shortcuts being taken in order to stay on time and under budget.
5) Restricted Capabilities
A lot of companies are looking for a system that is easy to use, can be integrated seamlessly and provide everything that they need to grow and manage the business. Only 23% of Share- Point implementations are considered to be optimised and mature ECM’s. The primary function of SharePoint is to share files – and that’s pretty much it.
A growing number of companies are looking to incorporate SharePoint into another ECM or document management system, due to its severe lack of features and functions, and naturally this generates additional costs and more steps in order for your business to reach its full potential. In short, SharePoint will only give you the walls of your ‘building’ – not the contents. It offers a basic layout, but if you really want to get anywhere with it, you will more than likely end up investing a lot more time and resources than you initially expected. Continuous support and the expertise of multiple third parties will be required for you to get much use out of the technology.